Cold Cases
by littlemissprincess721
Summary: 9th in the Littlest CSI series...I think. Emily seeks out a challenge in reopening a Cold Case. But will she be able to handle it when the disturbing details of the case come to light? Disclaimer: I own nothing but Emily here. This is for fun not profit.
1. I Like a Challenge

Cold Cases, Chapter 1

Emily sighed softly, leaning back in her chair at the Trace lab.

It was pretty slow at the lab today. Heck, she didn't think she would have had come in, but loving her work, she had shown up anyway.

She was on callout, but nothing had come up yet.

There was no new evidence to process.

Her sketchbooks were full.

She sighed, and finally decided to go through the cold case files in the system. She always liked a challenge, and when crime was seemingly ignoring her, she sought a crime out.

She read through the files, but nothing seemed to stand out. About to give up, she finally found one that caught her interest.

The original crimes took place two years ago. MDPD had come up against a serial killer. CSI had analyzed all of the evidence recovered at the crime scene, but the trail grew cold.

What made the case stand out for Emily was the apparent lack of commonality between the victims. Four women, who worked in different places, who looked completely different, who had no seeming connections, had become the victims of a brutal killer in the same month. The only similarity between the cases was the injuries sustained by the women, and the location of the body dumps.

Emily smiled. Oh how she loved a challenge. She picked up the file and went to find Horatio.

She found him walking out of the elevators, looking distraught.

"Horatio? Are you all right?"

He looked at Emily sadly. "I'll be fine."

Emily suddenly realized what had happened.

"You found that missing girl didn't you? Sarah?"

Horatio nodded in reply.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Emily sighed.

He nodded again.

"I'm sorry, Horatio. Would you mind if I ask you a question?"

"What can I do for you?" Horatio said, his flat tone reflecting the guilt that weighed on him.

"Did we work this case?" Emily asked, her green eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Horatio took the file and perused it, now slightly interested.

"Not that I recall," he said, handing the file back to Emily. "Why?"

"Well, everyone seems to have a case but me, and Valera has the Trace lab handled. I like a challenge. I want to reopen the case."

Horatio stared at her for a minute. "Okay. However, if a new case comes up I will need you."

Emily nodded. "Of course. Thanks." She turned to walk down the hall.

"And Emily," Horatio called. "Keep me posted on this one. It looks interesting."

Emily nodded and continued down the hall with a sense of purpose


	2. Case Notes

Thanks so much to KatieC!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with CSI: Miami. The only thing I lay claim to here is Emily.

Read and Review!

Emily smiled as she bounced back into the break room. She began to carefully pin photographs from the cases to a bulletin board in the back of the room.

Emily stared at the pictures for a moment before turning to the case file.

Victim 1.

Leanne Mendell. Found dead in her home May 2, 2004. COD was strangulation, but there were multiple bruises and marks on the body consistent with a beating and usage of a knife. A note found at the scene read: '_I saved her'._

Victim 2.

Angeline Smith. Found dead in her home May 13, 2004. COD was the same as Victim 1. Knife wounds and bruising were present. There was a note at the scene reading: '_She's free'. _Body was also in the same position as victim 1, lying face up with hands clasped in a prayerful position at the chest, legs straight out in front of her.

Victim 3.

Karen Hill. Found dead in her home May 17, 2004. COD was the same as Victims 1 and 2. Knife wounds and bruising were again present. The note at this scene read: '_I took care of her'. _Body position was consistent with the other victims.

Victim 4.

Carroll Myer. Found dead in her home May 25, 2004. COD was the same as the previous three victims. Bruising, knife wounds, and body position was the same as the other three victims. The note found at this scene read: '_She is at peace, resting with the others'._

Emily turned to the break room table and removed each of the notes from the evidence box. The writing had been compared when they had originally been processed; the writing on each note was by the same person.

She read the ME's report, taking notes of the wounds each victim sustained. Satisfied that she had recorded the most significant facts, she sat back in her chair and took a look at her summary.

_The knife used was a short blade with a clean edge._

_Bruising patterns seem distinct, but are hard to make out. Knife wounds are in the same place on each body, suggesting a premeditated act and may be symbolic._

_Body position seems to mean something. Praying hands? A religious fanatic?_

_Why strangle them when you have a knife?_

_Killer seems to think killing them has helped them in some way._

_Victims all worked in different places:_

_Vic. 1 was a real estate agent._

_Vic. 2 was a stockbroker. _

_Vic. 3 was a pediatrician. _

_Vic. 4 was a housewife._

_Need to find connections between the victims. Personal and home life? Activities in and outside of work? Hobbies?_

Emily finished her notes and stood. It was time to visit the homes of these women and find out what their lives were like.


	3. Mr Mendell

Cold Cases, Chapter 3

Emily walked up to the door of the Mendell house. She knocked and waited patiently.

A young girl, of no more than 7 opened the door. She was pretty, with curly brown hair and big blue eyes.

Emily smiled down at the girl. "Hi. My name is Emily Taylor. I'm with the police. Can I speak to your father?"

An older man walked up. He pulled his daughter away from the door and stood protectively in front of her.

"What do you want?"

Emily kept her calm demeanor. "I need to ask you some questions about your wife, Mr. Mendell.

He studied her for a moment, as if sizing her up. He slowly opened the door.

"Come in."

She followed him into the house. It was simply but beautifully decorated. The layout of the house was open and spacious; Emily had expected nothing less from the house of a former real estate agent.

Mr. Mendell directed her to the kitchen table where she sat. He poured himself some water, and asked her if she wanted a glass. She accepted. He sat next to her.

He sighed. "I don't usually take well to police officers, but I've never seen you before."

Emily smiled and sipped her water. "I just started working with the MDPD. I'm with the Crime Lab."

Mendell nodded, still looking slightly skeptical, but she could see that he was more relaxed. Emily took another sip of her water and looked up at Mendell.

"I would like to ask you a couple of questions about your wife," she said gently.

Mendell nodded slowly, his eyes seeming to cloud over.

"How was your home life?"

"We were very happy," he answered. "Her real estate firm was doing well; we had just bought this place. My wife had just found out she was pregnant again. Life was pretty good."

Emily nodded. "What did your wife do in her spare time?"

"She was very involved with Sarah," he said, nodding to his daughter. "She volunteered with the preschool Sarah was attending, drove her to soccer practice, started Sarah on the violin, you know, she was a good mother."

Emily scribbled down some notes and nodded. "Anything else she liked to do?"

"She loved photography. Never went anywhere without her camera. Most of the pictures in this house were taken by her."

Emily smiled at him. "Would you mind if I took a look at some of your wife's things?"

Mendell stared at her. "We've had police coming to our house on and off the year my wife died, but I haven't seen an officer come on over here in forever. Suddenly, you show up and want to go through my wife's stuff?"

"I reopened your wife's case for a reason. I just want to make sure we didn't miss any details."

He stared at her for minute, still looking skeptical, before nodding slowly.

He led her to the attic, which was filled with old boxes. He pulled out three boxes, laying them out in front of Emily.

"My wife's things are all in here. Mostly books and things, and her cameras. I gave away all her clothes to charity."

Emily smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Mendell.

Mendell left with a curt nod.

Emily snapped on some gloves and began looking through the boxes. The first box contained family albums and photographs. She perused these for a minute.

The second box was very interesting. It contained a worn and much highlighted Bible, as well as notebooks detailing devotionals, and detailed notes on sermons. She also found a prayer journal, and a diary, and many Christian books.

She closed that box, deciding to bring it along with her to the lab.

The third box contained one regular film camera, two digital cameras, and a digital camcorder. There were also three smaller boxes inside, containing neatly organized and labeled film canisters, memory cards, and mini DVDs.

She sighed. She had along day ahead of her. Besides interviewing the families of the other four victims, she now had all this new evidence to go through.

Make that long days.

Hours later she was back at the lab. She hadn't gotten a lot from the interviews. It was mostly the same story, happy family, good lives, and then the wife was gone.

She had collected prayer journals, devotionals, and diaries belonging to each of the murder victim's houses, as well as many Christian books.

She sighed. This case was bugging her slightly because these houses had looked very similar to her house. Her family attended church every Sunday, some of the titles of the books she had found she recognized, as they were in her own house.

She sighed as she made her way to the layout room. It was empty for now as shifts were changing. She decided to use that to her advantage.

She called home to tell her mom she was busy with a case and would be at the lab, and began to unpack the boxes of evidence, knowing it would be a long night.


	4. Overwork

Cold Cases, Chapter 4

Emily worked long into the night, going through the diaries and prayer journals. She began to find a pattern in each of them. All of them talked about having marriage difficulties near the end of the journal. They all mentioned seeing a therapist named Michael, who had worked wonders with them. Michael had no last name. Emily scribbled down in her notes that she needed to find this Michael, and question the husbands again.

She also noted that all these women had attended different churches within the Miami Dade area.

She sighed as she began to go through the rolls of film Mrs. Mendell had provided as well as many files on discs and memory cards. Luckily, she had been well organized.

Emily had been mindlessly searching the files for over two hours when she saw a file that was labeled 'Me, Scott, And Mike after final therapy session.'

She opened the folder. It had one picture of Mr. and Mrs. Mendell and another man.

He was taller than Mr. Mendell with icy blue eyes and dirty blond, but neatly combed hair. He looked impeccably dressed in a suit and tie. She cut down the picture to only his face and printed it up.

She also began running the picture against all recorded criminals in the Miami-Dade area.

She was staring at the computer, feeling unconsciousness tugging at the edges of her awareness.

She had to stay awake…

Horatio walked into his office bright and early Wednesday morning. He felt good that morning. He had resolved some issues with Stetler and had solved the kidnapping turned murder case from the past few days.

His office phone rang almost the second he settled into his chair.

"Caine," he answered, maintaining his professionalism.

"Lieutenant Caine?" A worried voice said. "This is Mrs. Taylor, Emily's mom. I was just wondering if you've seen her?"

He sat up, immediately becoming worried. "No I haven't. Why do you ask?"

There was a slight pause and sigh from the other line. "I got a message from her last night saying she'd be home late from work. She wasn't here when I got up this morning and there's no sign in her room that she was ever home."

Horatio tensed more, leaning forward in his seat. "I'll check around the lab and call you back."

"Thank you Lieutenant Caine."

He hung up the phone and walked down to the Trace lab. She wasn't there. He checked the break room. She wasn't there either.

He felt his stomach tighten and his pulse speed up as he started to get worried.

He walked into the layout room and found it a mess. There were papers, photographs and boxes all over the place. Emily was slumped over a pile of papers in the middle of the mess, fast asleep.

He dialed her mother on his cell phone. "Mrs. Taylor. Yes, I found her. She fell asleep here. I'll take care of her. Okay. Bye."

He smiled; feeling relieved, and carefully lifted Emily into his arms. She looked like she needed the sleep, but she had to be uncomfortable. He set off for the break room.

Calleigh came out of the print lab to his right. She gave him a questioning look and fell into step beside him.

"Is she okay?" She asked, sending a pointed look at Emily's unconscious form.

"She's fine," Horatio answered. "Case of overwork."

Calleigh grinned. "You would know all about that."

Horatio glared at her playfully, knowing she was referring to his reputation as the resident workaholic.

He carefully laid Emily down on the break room couch and covered her with a blanket. He was surprised she was sleeping so soundly. The jostling she received from being carried only elicited a moan and some slight movement from her.

Calleigh leaned against the door with her arms crossed, a small smirk playing on her face. Horatio straightened and crossed the room.

"I think she's got even you beat out," Calleigh said, nodding to Emily's sleeping form.

Horatio glanced fondly at the girl he regarded as his daughter. "I think so too."

He grinned, slipped his arm around Calleigh's waist, and walked her back to the print lab.


	5. Just Trying to be Honest

Cold Cases, Chapter 5

Ryan walked into the break room that morning intending to eat his usual morning muffin, drink his coffee, and finish some paperwork from the last case in peace and quiet.

He carefully poured himself a cup of coffee, not even noticing Emily sleeping on the couch, and settled in, sinking deeply into his work within a few minutes.

Ryan was biting into his muffin when he heard a moan. Startled, the muffin fell from his hand as he jumped to his feet, his eyes sweeping the room.

He relaxed when he saw Emily and smiled at her. She turned over and stared at him blearily.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, her voice slightly raspy.

He grinned and poured her some coffee. "You just scared me, is all."

"What time is it?" She asked as she carefully sat up and accepted the coffee.

"Mmmm…about 9:00."

"PM?"

Ryan gave her a confused look. "No, AM."

"What?" She yelled, jumping to her feet.

Ryan looked at her. "What's wrong?"

"I was here overnight! I probably look a mess, too!"

Ryan shrugged. "It's not that bad."

Emily put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrows.

"All right," Ryan admitted. "Your hair is sticking every which way, and your makeup is a little…" He ended with gestures to hopefully emphasize his point.

His miming was interrupted by Emily as she smacked him over the head and stormed out the door.

Ryan shrugged. "I was just being honest!" He yelled after her. With a shake of his head he returned to his paperwork, a small smiled now gracing his features.

Emily rushed to the locker room, praying no one would notice her in her current crisis.

She threw open her locker and grabbed a spare set of jeans and a MDPD t-shirt she kept in there, just for occasions like this, as well as some soap and shampoo so she could take a shower.

She smiled. It never hurt to be prepared.

She showered and changed, throwing her damp hair into a messy bun. She did her makeup carefully and walked out.

She knew she didn't look exactly work worthy. The jeans were very casual and the MDPD t-shirt was a little too big for her, but she was grateful to have some clean clothes.

She pulled on her tennis shoes and walked out, ready to go to the layout room and finish up her work.

She spent the next hour in the layout room, gathering papers, checking computers and putting away evidence from the old cases.

She kept the foreign DNA evidence, as well as the picture of 'Michael' and the journals out.

She gave the evidence boxes back to Valera walked out into the hall, looking for Horatio.

He was at the end of the hall, talking to a young woman. She was pretty, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes.

"Horatio?" She called quietly.

She caught his attention. He looked up and nodded to her.

"I'll be with you in a moment."

She watched him put his arm around the girl's shoulders and steer her to the elevators, still speaking quietly. He looked worried, she looked upset, and Emily could tell something was wrong.

He turned back to her and walked over, the smile back on his face, although she could detect the worry in his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked.

Emily handed him the picture. "You said you wanted to be kept informed? That's our latest suspect. He was a Marriage Counselor for all four of these couples, and is mentioned in their journals. I found his picture on an old memory card of Mrs. Mendell's. There are no records of him ever being brought in for questioning."

Horatio frowned. "I wonder who investigated this one?"

Emily shook her head. "No idea, but they were certainly doing a half-assed job of things."

"Language, Em," Horatio chided, though the twinkle in his eye told Emily he agreed.

Emily grinned. "I'm going to check the local churches, see what I can pull up on their counselors. He didn't match anyone in our database."

Horatio nodded. "You're doing well with this one Emily. Keep me posted."


	6. Pastor of Counseling

Cold Cases, Chapter 6

Emily walked into the first church, Miami-Dade Baptist. It was a huge church that boasted 4,500 members, and was the home church of the first two victims.

The victims hadn't known each other, but with a church this size it wasn't a surprise to Emily.

Her family attended this church, and her parents were very involved, especially her Mom.

She made her way to the counseling offices in the massive building.

"Hi," she greeted the smiling secretary at the counseling desk. "I'm here to speak to whoever's in charge of counseling here. I'm with the Crime Lab." She flashed her badge.

"Of course," said the Secretary. "Right this way."

The secretary led her down a hallway past many closed doors, each with a plaque that had the name of a counselor. Emily could hear hushed voices, and from a few of the doors that were open, she could see people busy at work, filling out paper work, reading or working on the computer.

At the end was a larger door. The plaque read: 'Reverend James Pierce' in large bold letters and underneath in smaller letters were the words 'Pastor of Counseling'.

The secretary knocked twice. A deep voice inside spoke gently. "Come in."

The secretary entered, Emily following close behind. Emily looked around the office, which was spacious. Straight in front of Emily was the Pastor, seated behind a large desk. Behind and to either side of the desk were shelves, which housed various books devoted to many different topics such as counseling, marriage, spiritual health, and other things expected in a Pastor's office. To Emily's left was an area with a couch and two chairs, separated by a coffee table.

Emily was pulled from her observations by the voice of the Secretary speaking. "Pastor Pierce, this is the officer from Miami-Dade Police."

"CSI," Emily corrected.

The Pastor smiled warmly. "Ah, yes. You called earlier. Please have a seat."

Emily took a seat in a comfortable chair across from the desk. The Pastor motioned for the Secretary to leave. Once he was gone he turned to her and smiled warmly.

"Now what is it you wanted to talk about?" He asked.

Emily observed the Pastor for a moment. He was an older man; many lines and wrinkles were etched into his face from the years. His hair was gray and spread sparsely across his balding head. What Emily immediately noted, however, was the Pastor's eyes. They were not unlike Horatio's eyes in their expressive sparkle and the warmth that seemed to be present.

She took her gaze off of the Pastor and reached into her bag, pulling out the picture of Michael she had saved.

She handed to him. "Do you recognize this man?"

The Pastor stared at the picture for a moment, his brows furrowed, before his eyes seemed to brighten with recognition.

"That's Michael," he said, carefully handing the picture back to Emily.

Emily tucked the picture back into the folder. "What can you tell me about him?"

The Pastor leaned back and carefully clasped his hands together.

"He was a counselor here for over two years. Good man. He had a very high success rate, especially in marriage counseling."

Emily nodded. "You said he 'was' a counselor. Did he leave?"

"Yes," said the Pastor gravely. "I'm sure you're asking about him in regards to the women that showed up murdered."

Emily looked up, slightly surprised by the Pastor's response.

"He was very disturbed when the first woman, Mrs. Mendell, was killed, and asked for leave. I gave it to him; quite understandably he was distressed. After the second murder, he quit. He was very close to both couples and he was hit hard by both murders."

Emily nodded. "I understand. Do you know where I can find him?"

"I have no idea," the pastor said quietly. "I lost all contact with him after he left. It's a shame really, he was a good counselor."

Emily rose and reached out to shake the Pastor's hand.

"Thanks for your time, Pastor."

Emily's head was spinning as she walked out of the office. Jumbled thoughts competed against one another in her head, each trying to surface of the other.

Emily returned to the lab, really turned on to her suspect now. Her thoughts were all consumed by one main thought that reigned over the others. Find this 'Michael', and bring these women the justice they deserved.

She sighed as she went back to the computer lab and ran facial recognition software for the umpteenth time, hoping anyone booked within the past few days may come up.

She let that run for a little while as she pursued other evidence in the case.

She went back to Mrs. Mendell's photographs, which were the hardest pieces of evidence she had right now.

Pulling up all recent photographs from the confiscated digital cameras, she began going through each one, careful to look for anything out of place.

Then she saw it.

It was a photograph of Mr. Mendell and his daughter in the park. She appeared to be laughing while being thrown up in the air by her father. The backdrop was beautiful, consisting of trees, grass, and a blue sky, but there was one thing out of place.

She zoomed in a tree to the left of Mr. Mendell, and there he was. Michael.

Over an hour later she had pulled up three dozen photographs with him somewhere in the background.

She checked the computer. It was still scanning for any new faces. Sighing, she decided to go visit Natalia and retrieve Mrs. Mendell's personal artifacts found on her at the murder scene.

Maybe there was something she had missed.

She took the evidence back to the layout room and spent what seemed like forever cutting up bags and bags of evidence. She was so absorbed in her work that she did not hear her computers 'positive match' beep on the facial recognition software.

Horatio walked out of the Trace lab after talking to Calleigh. They were working a fairly routine homicide, a crime of passion, with enough DNA evidence to convict anyone. Not that any homicide was routine, but this one seemed very straightforward.

He had spoken to Calleigh briefly about some trace under the victim's fingernails and had also asked if Emily had been in today.

"No," Calleigh had answered. "Last time I saw her she was in the layout room, working. Why?"

"It's just unusual. She thinks of this Trace lab as her home away from home, I'm just wondering why she hasn't been in today."

Calleigh shrugged then smiled softly. "You worry too much."

He turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Oh do I?"

She carefully laid down each one of her tools and slowly pulled off her gloves. She fixed him with a seductive stare and moved closer too him, standing on her tiptoes till she was right in his face.

"Yes," she whispered. "But I think that's very attractive on you."

"Don't do this to me here, Calleigh," Horatio moaned. "I have to work."

She snaked her arms slowly around his neck, her bright green eyes catching his own in a fiery stare.

"I just wanted to give you something to look forward to," she whispered in his ear before kissing him softly.

Against all his professional instincts he deepened the kiss, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer to him.

A distinct cough broke their little moment.

They broke apart and Calleigh slowly disentangled herself from him and turned towards the interrupters.

Ryan and Eric were standing in the doorway, trying to hide their grins.

She glanced over at Horatio, who was looking down at the floor, trying to conceal his rather obvious blush.

"We were just looking for you two," Ryan said, his brown eyes twinkling with merriment.

"Yeah, but we'll leave if you're busy uh…_ discussing_ something." Eric added.

Horatio looked up, his professional demeanor recovered. "Actually, Mr. Wolfe, can you do me a favor and go check on Emily?"

Ryan nodded and walked off.

"Eric?" Horatio asked fixing his glare on him.

"Yeah?"

"Go check the DNA results."

"On it."

They left and Horatio turned his gaze to Calleigh, his glare softening somewhat.

"And you…"

Calleigh raised an eyebrow, staring right back.

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Calleigh grinned. "I know handsome."

He smiled and left the room, heading to Autopsy.

Ryan walked into the layout room, intent on following his boss' orders.

He saw Emily there, scribbling furiously onto a piece of paper as she turned a pair of bloodstained pants over in her hands.

"Em?" He called, knocking softly on the doorway.

She didn't respond.

"Emily," he said, approaching the bench.

He was met with silence.

He took a closer look at her. Emily looked exceedingly pale. Dark circles had formed under her eyes, and her shoulders were hunched. Her eyes were glassy and had an almost feverish look to them.

He reached out and touched her shoulder. She yelled and jumped backward looking like a caged animal.

"Emily it's okay. It's just me."

She just stared back, breathing heavily. After a moment she appeared to relax and returned to the pants she had been inspecting.

"I have to work Ryan." She said flatly.

"Emily," Ryan protested. "You need to take a break for a minute. How long have you been here?"

"I don't know," she mumbled.

In truth the interview with the Counseling Pastor had been at 10:00. She had gotten back to the lab at 10:45 and it was now 7:00 PM. she had been working non-stop for nearly eight hours.

He put his hand on her shoulder, and firmly turned her to face him.

"Let's take a break, huh?"

"I can't," she whined, almost feebly.

Her eyes came to rest on the computer.

"I have results," she said and tried to struggle out of Ryan's grasp.

"Results can wait. You need to cool down," Ryan said, fully in big brother mode.

She struggled but it was weaker this time. He noted the way she leaned on him heavily as he steered her to the break room.

"When was the last time you ate?"

"I dunno…" She mumbled.

He stopped and turned her around.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"To eat something."

"Might be good," she said leaning on him even more.

He grunted at the extra weight and continued to support her.

He grinned. "Yeah. It might be."


	7. Shivers

Cold Cases, Chapter 7

Emily and Ryan walked back into the lab, the former feeling much better since eating, and the latter relieved at Emily's return to normality.

Ryan thought of himself as Emily's big brother; it was almost instinctual for him to be a little over-protective.

He glanced over at her. She was nearly skipping; her energy and her drive regained. She looked refreshed.

He smiled turning back to his thoughts. Come to think of it, she had another over-protective big brother. And Eric Delko was not one to be trifled with.

He said goodbye to Emily and went to the Trace lab, hoping to get caught up on any details of his case he had missed.

Emily ducked into the Trace lab and looked at the results.

'Michael', whose last name she discovered was Putnam, had been brought in on DUI charges two days ago.

She smiled as she looked at his last known address. Time to go talk to him.

She pulled up to the dingy looking house and sat for a minute, contemplating how she was going to deal with this Michael.

As far as she knew, he had killed four women. All she needed was his DNA to prove it.

She sighed. She was so close. She had police backup; she was going in with protection. She had a warrant.

So why did something feel wrong?

She sighed and got out of the car. She looked over at Tripp, who offered an encouraging nod. She drew her gun and followed Tripp and the other Uniformed Officers to the Door

Tripp Pounded on the door. "Putnam! Miami-Dade police! Open up!"

The door opened and the very same man that she had seen in Mrs. Mendell's photographs was staring at her.

He was surprisingly well dressed, in a blue button up shirt and jeans. His blonde hair was slightly longer than the photograph, but he still had those cold grey eyes. They were icy, emotionless. Slightly unnerving.

"Put your hands in the air where I can see them," Tripp growled, his eyes icing over in disgust.

"Michael Putnam you are under arrest for the murder of…" A police officer began. But to Emily the words faded to silence as she watched Michael.

He gave her a smile and raised his hands.

_Kinda creepy._ Emily thought.

He seemed rather willing as he was led to the car in cuffs.

"I was hoping it would be you who would interview me," Michael said as she entered the room.

Emily raised her eyebrows as she set down the box of evidence from his booking. The guy had been packing some stuff in his jacket. She sat in the chair and looked back at him.

"I didn't think you could hope. Emotion doesn't seem to fit you Mr. Putnam."

He smiled at her. "Forget the formalities, Emily. Call me Michael."

She narrowed her eyes. "How do you know my name?"

"I know everything about you," he said, still wearing that creepy smile. "As soon as I heard you were reopening my case, I decided to do a little digging. The only reason I went with you willingly is because I knew you were a worthy opponent. The first investigating officer on my case, Camille Blake, was an idiot. She had no idea what she was doing. You on the other hand, I have to commend."

"Why did you kill them?" She said, sliding the pictures of the four victims towards the criminal. She tried to pretend she wasn't shaken by his behavior.

"Have you ever seen an unhappy marriage? I counseled these couples and by the end they seemed happy, but I knew it was just an act. A typical suburban family must seem, well, typical. It was obviously a front. However, they had taken vows. Marriage vows. The only way they could part with their spouses with honor was death. So I helped them."

"You actually believed killing these women was helping them? Mr. Putnam I have interviewed the spouses of these poor women, and they have all said that they were happy thanks to you!"

Michael's eyes remained as emotionless as ever. Emily suppressed a shiver.

"Are you parents happy, Emily?" Michael said, leaning forward. "Because if they aren't, I would be glad to help."

Emily stared at him, wide-eyed. It took all her self-control not to run out of the room. She gathered up her files trying desperately to avoid eye contact with a still smiling Michael.

She managed to make it to the layout room without freaking out completely. She put the box of evidence down, noting her hands were shaking.

She sank weakly into the nearest chair and put her hand on her forehead, trying to ignore her churning stomach.

_He was watching me. He was watching my family._

Ryan knocked on the door. "Hey, Emy. You okay?"

Emily brushed past him, holding her hand over her mouth.

She barely made her way to the bathroom before she lost her lunch.

Ryan ran after her, coming to quick stop outside the women's bathroom. He glared at the sign on the door.

He was worried about Emily. He carefully knocked on the door.

Emily leaned over the toilet; heaving up the remains of the sandwich Ryan had bought her for lunch.

She leaned against the wall and moaned, holding her stomach.

She heard Ryan's voice and a knock at the door.

"Emily! Emy, are you okay?"

She got up slowly and washed her face.

"I swear to God I will come in there if you don't come out now!" Ryan yelled.

Emily stumbled over to the door. She opened it.

"What?" She said softly.

He raised his eyebrows. "You want to talk about it?"

"Yes," she whispered.

Ryan steered her to the locker room, checking to make sure no one else was in there. "What happened?" He asked sitting her down carefully.

Emily sucked in a breath. "He was watching…me…" She sniffed as tears began to run down her face.

Ryan pulled her to him and rocked her back and forth.

"He's in jail, right?" He said softly.

"Yes," she choked.

"So he can't hurt you." He soothed.

She pulled back and looked at him fearfully.

"I…It's n…not just…m…m…me," she choked. "My…my family."

Ryan looked at her in shock. "He threatened your family?"

She nodded. "I can't do this Ryan. I'm putting them in danger. What if I lost them?"

Ryan put his arm around her gently. "That is a fear I deal with every day, and I'm sure everybody else does too. Its part of the dangers of what we do, but that doesn't mean we can stop doing it. We are the reason that more people don't suffer because of criminals like the man who threatened you."

Emily nodded. "Thanks Ry."

"That's what big bothers are for," he said, hugging her tightly.

He released her and they stood.

"Horatio invited everyone over to his house tonight for some games and dinner. You coming?" Ryan asked.

Emily grinned. "Just so I can beat your ass."


End file.
